Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $167.00 to $184.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Atmos Energy traded as high as $190.86 and last traded at $191.16, with a volume of 18809 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $189.66.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on ATO. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $192.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.56.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 85.9% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $31.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $181.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.89.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.67% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.95%.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.